Castiel and Crowley: The Next Missions
by WatchingOne
Summary: A spin-off from Supernatural featuring the team of Castiel and Crowley. They find that they make a rather good team of Hunters in their own right, but can tackle the cases that even the vaunted Winchesters can't handle...
1. The Hunt is On

Chapter 1: The Hunt is On

Jed moved silently into the misty clearing. He slid he knife from it's leather sheath and ran his finger along the the silver blade. Looking up at the moon peeking out between the shifting clouds, he quickly but quietly ran the knife through the muddy ground and tufts of wet grass, coating it's surface as best he could with earth. No sense risking a reflection and advertising his whereabouts. He stared into the mist again. Somewhere up ahead was the pond – more of a big pool, really. The thing had existed since before recorded history. But that wasn't the biggest anomaly that had brought Jed here. He was a Hunter. And _something_ that lived in that pool had been picking off locals in this Louisiana bayou at regular ten-year intervals since as long as people could remember. The attacks ran for six days, one victim a night, and then nothing. Ten years of peace.

He had read the info on the creature from an old journal of Bobby Singer's. The Winchester boys had sent out all of Bobby's old journals in a mass data file once Garth had written it all down digitally. It was, everyone thought, a cold case. The pond had been identified as the lair, dredged, searched, drained, electrocuted, covered in cement and sealed with every type of demon trap imaginable in the last couple of years. The Hunters thought that must've done it for sure. But here it was, the ten-year mark, and the attacks just picked right up again.

No one had ever spotted the thing. Judging by the corpses it left, it was a nasty critter. Jed checked his double holsters at his waist, made sure his weapons were clear. He was packing two identical .357's, one loaded with silver bullets, the other with rock salt. Couldn't be too careful. And Jed had been doing this for a long time. He shuddered as he thought about the crime-scene photos of the victims. No sir, can't be too careful with this critter at all.

He edged forward at a crouch. The clearing was far too big for his liking, anything that might be living there would be able to spot any approach easily. He thought about low-crawling but decided against it because of the marshy ground. His weapons or something else could get tangled up and caught there. And getting caught out in the open here was a one-way ticket to the morgue.

He got within sight distance of the pond. Sure enough, there were chunks of broken concrete laying all around the outside of it. He whistled to himself mentally as he noticed the claw marks that were ripped across their surfaces, right through the demon traps and sigils. Nasty critter, no joke.

He froze as he heard a soft ripple move across the water's surface. He cussed to himself. He had figured it might be still sleeping, the night was young and this thing seemed to prefer the middle of the night for it's attacks. He cleared the silver-bullet loaded Magnum and held it to his side in his right hand. He gripped the knife tight in his left, moving it into a number two position, the blade running along his forearm.

There was an explosion of water as something huge, fast and bellowing broke out of the pond, slimy water and mud trailing behind it as it sprang through the air. Jed could only make out the massive, slavering jaws of the thing and the wet, coal-black eyes as it landed on him. The Magnum went off dead in the thing's chest, but it didn't faze it. His left arm was pinned immediately by a wet, powerful claw. He fired the weapon as fast as he could right into the thing's neck and chest. He could hear the wet thuds the slugs made as they went into the creature's body, but it didn't faze it one bit. He dropped the pistol and wrenched his right arm to his waistband, pulling the second pistol and firing point-blank, full clip into the thing's face.

It shook it's massive head. It's skin was slimy and mottled in the moonlight. The teeth were as long as his fingers, and spit ran from it's wide jaw in streams. It smelled like old, stagnant water. And _old_, very old. It stopped moving it's head and stared at him with it's deep black eyes, and _smiled._

Jed tried to pull himself away, but it was impossibly strong and had him pinned completely under him. Jed's eyes widened in panic. This was it. End of the road. It opened it's mouth wide, layed down horizontally on him, and moved it's jaws over the top of his head. He could feel the slaver running into his ears, the stench of it's breath was of a pure predator. He felt it start to bite down when he heard a voice from somewhere behind him.

"Now _that's_ exactly why you lot never managed to stay in control here. All impulse. No table manners whatsoever."

The thing moved it's jaws back slowly off of Jed's skull, a sickening slurping sound filled his ears. He was shaking like a leaf from the surge of adrenalin and fear. He felt rather than heard a deep growl building in the thing's massive chest. Jed saw a reflection in it's eyes, an upside-down dark figure standing in the middle of the field, still as a statue. The creature let out a deep, wet hiss.

"Well, that's just _rude,_ " the voice replied. "No one, human or alternate, has even seen one of you chaps in about a hundred million years. Well, seen you and lived that is...and _that's _how you say hello?"

The creature stood up, dripping murky water onto Jed, who was now free. He lay still, though, too afraid to make a move in case it changed it's mind and decided to rip out his throat while it decided what to do with the new guy.

"Now, let's try this again. My name's Crowley..." the voice continued in a tone like he was talking to a small child. "and you must be...oh dear, how many letters did they use to have in your names, anyway? I remember it was a_lot..._"

The thing let out a earth-shattering, deep and furious scream. It charged head first at the figure. Jed twisted onto his stomach and watched it charge, scrambling back on his hand and butt at the same time to get some distance.

Just before it reached the lone figure, however, something fell from the sky behind it. Something incredibly fast. It's arm flashed out, a silver trail catching the moonlight in a wide arch angled toward the thing's back. There was deep thud as something went through the monster's back. It arched backwards, screaming into the night sky, it's arms splayed out, and fell heavily to the earth.

The figure that came from the sky pulled the silver blade from it's back and shook it off. The other man took at step back. "Watch it, this suit is Armani!" He shook his head and moved past him, striding purposefully towards Jed. The other man, Jed noticed, was wearing a trenchcoat and what looked like a dark business suit. All Jed could think of was how badly they were dressed to be out in a swamp...

The first man, Crowley he had called himself, kneeled down in front of Jed and cocked his head to the side. "Do you have any idea how lucky you are right now young man?", he asked, smiling. "Well, beside getting to meet _me_, of course. That thing, " he gestured behind him him with a calm wave. " is called a … well, I can't even pronounce it... but a certain talented writer and magician once named it a 'Deep One'." He shook his head. "Yeah, I know, not very impressive when you say it out loud...doesn't really capture the _ooziness _of it, you know?" He stood up, offering a hand up. Jed cautiously took it and hauled himself up. "Those things are older than the dinosaurs, older even than my friend here," he said, gesturing to the man in trenchcoat walking towards them. "Castiel, say hello to tonight's almost-appetizer."

The man named Castiel cocked his head quizzically as he looked at Jed. "Hello. May I ask, what were you doing out here alone with that thing?"

"Oh you make it sound so scandalous, " said Crowley. "Look, Castiel, we've_talked _about this, human observation and deduction..." He indicated Jed with his hand, waving it from his head to his toes in a quick gesture. "Camouflage suit, silver weapons, salt, various means of destruction, he's obviously a Hunter. Aren't you?", Crowley asked, grinning triumphantly.

Jed looked from one to the other. "How do you two know about Hunters?", he asked, still shaken."Who in the hell are you two?" Jed began to feel a bit nervous.

Crowley smiled and held a hand on his shoulder. "We're your guardian angels, love, " Crowley grinned. Castiel's eyes narrowed in irritation. "Hunters take care of the things that go bump in the night, right?", he asked rhetorically.

"We're the ones that take care of the things that make the _big _bumps."


	2. Partners

Chapter 2: Partners

As soon as Jed had gathered his things, and himself, he started off towards his parked Jeep at he edge of the swamp, a couple of miles away. Crowley watched him go, gave him a little wave when he turned his head back once, Jed considering whether to thank the pair for saving his bacon. But he apparently thought better of it, and continued on.

When he was out of sight, Crowley whipped out his cell, hit a number on speed-dial and waited, nudging the creature with his foot while the phone dialed. Castiel raised his eyebrows at him and Crowley just shrugged. "Gotta be sure, you know?", he mumbled. Castiel just shook his head, peering off into the sky. "What?", Crowley asked defensively. "It's not like anyone has seen one of these things in a billion years. I don't even know if it's supposed to be breathing or not. This, " he said indicating the body with his free hand. "could be perfectly normal for this smelly damned thing for all we know. It could be napping, or _regenerating_...", he added, showing Castiel a mockingly scared expression. Castiel looked down at the creature again, squinting.

"Do you think that maybe we should burn it, then? Or possibly just behead it?", he asked seriously.

Crowley just rolled his eyes in response, turning away, a frustrated growl coming from his throat. "C'mon, how many rings before _somebody_ picks up the bloody...Oh! Hello, there!", he exclaimed, his voice becoming perky and full of delight. " And who is this? Ah-huh, , " he added nodding a little too vigorously. "And how long, Justin, have we been on my service... , yep. Now, answer me this, Justin, on the desk at which you are sitting, is there a little red Post-It note there? There is. Good, Can you read it for me darling?" There was a pregnant pause, and then some nervous fast talking from the other end. Crowley had squeezed his eyes tightly and was nodding violently again. "Yes, exactly, ONLY TWO RINGS ALLOWED, THEN PICK UP THE BLOODY PHONE! I _hate _WAITING ON THE BLOODY LINE!", he exploded, holding the phone away from his mouth and screaming into it. "Now, now, Justin. Seeing as to you are new to my service, we are going to call this strike one. I'll only rip off one of your ears, your choice, of course..." Crowley glanced up, and saw Castiel looking at him sternly, his head slowly moving left to right. "Ah, Ok, ok Justin. Justin...Justin? Stop crying Justin. It's your lucky day. You have a guardian angel. And I do mean that_literally_. Now, Justin, I need you to go to work for me, " Crowley shrugged his shoulders, the anger leaving him. "I want you to look up absolutely everything we have by H.P. Lovecraft, and find out, and _quickly_, I might add, if there is anything mentioned in his writings describing the regenerative capabilities of the Deep Ones, or their hybrids...and, as I stressed Justin, _quickly_, please. Also, let me know if we have any idea about that cult we're looking for that summoned this thing here in the first place. _Quickly_, Justin, I mean that." He hung up and pressed another number. This time, it was promptly answered. Crowley smiled. "Tweedledum, Tweedledee, I need you here post-haste. Follow my GPS. Body removal. Possible storage. Oh, and bring gloves. It's a nasty piece of work." He hung up again and let out a deep sigh. "You know, Castiel? Between the Angels killing the Demons, and the Demons killing Demons, and the Winchesters killing just about every other bleeding Demon left, you think the herd would have been thinned out a bit, you know? The weakest culled from the pack, so to say? Well, it isn't true. I still can't find competent help."

This time it was Castiel who smiled sardonically. "Well, at least you have help, Crowley, we Angels have to usually be more self-sufficient."

"Oh please, " Crowley replied, rolling his eyes again." Without that Winchester boy, you wouldn't be able to tell which end was up down here." He smiled at Castiel when he just glowered back at him.

"Touchy, touchy, hmm? So, what do you say, in the meantime, while we're waiting for my overpaid staff to arrive, we discuss our next step here?"

Castiel shrugged, looking back off into the woodline. "We track down the cult that summons this thing every ten years. We already know that it can't manifest itself without being called."

"And you do know what that implies, don't you?", Crowley asked, raising his eyebrows. "This is a cult with _extremely_ dangerous spells at it's disposal. Summoning spells being the least of our concern here. It isn't that far of a leap to think that they might have something that works against yours truly, maybe against Angels as well. It might not be wise to just go charging in, preferred method of Heaven's army or not."

Castiel frowned. "I seriously doubt that they can stop an Angel, and you are hardly just a mere Demon."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, " Crowley smiled tightly. "But I'm really not so sure. Do you know the story of where these things come from in the first place?" Crowley glanced back at the body, watched it for a few seconds, and turned back to Castiel.

Castiel nodded, turning his head to watch the body. "The Old Ones. A vast dark energy that existed before anything. Before God, allegedly. It's said that they literally were the darkness that was there before God came and brought light and order to the universe."

Crowley showed genuine surprise. "And here I thought you Angels were just grunts."

Castiel looked back to him. "Heaven's libraries are more comprehensive than even you can imagine, Crowley. And when us 'grunts' aren't on assignment, or trying to keep the universe from ripping itself apart, we spend an awful lot of time in it."

"Hmff," Crowley considered, rubbing his chin and raising his eyebrows." On our down time in Hell we just have this massive Xbox and Wii room for everyone...you Angels really are nerds..."Castiel frowned, and Crowley laid a hand on his shoulder. "No, no, in all seriousness. The pertinent information in all of the origins of these creatures is what worries me. These things were here _before_ God. They were the entire universe, swirling chaos itself, gathering power unto themselves completely unchecked by order, time or restraint. The absolute power they had is staggering."

Castiel nodded. "That goes without saying. They were extremely powerful. Extremely dangerous."

"_Are _extremely powerful, Castiel, _are _extremely dangerous," Crowley replied, raising his eyebrows. "The mere existence of Mr. Smelly here..."Crowley nodded towards the unmoving body once again. "indicates that God never really destroyed them. He locked them away somewhere. Somewhere that even _He_ thought was safe." He paused for effect. "That means..."

"That means that they are strong enough to defy God's will, " Castiel answered quietly, dread rising in his voice.

Crowley nodded. "It also means that even given the opportunity, your Papa didn't destroy them at all...didn't or _couldn't._.." Crowley emphasized this last, letting it hang in the air between them.

Castiel's eyes widened a bit at that, looking more intently at the creature lying there. "We need to be absolutely sure it's really dead," he said, looking back at Crowley.

"Exactly my point, sunshine. Exactly my point."


	3. On the Road

Chapter 3: On the Road

After a little while, a black Humvee drove into the clearing and shut it's engine off. A couple of demons dressed in three-piece black suits and wearing work gloves exited. They walked over to Crowley, had a couple of words with him out of earshot of Castiel, and then proceeded to wrap the creature in chains and a sack. They then hefted it onto their shoulders, threw it into the back of the Humvee, and drove off. Castiel and Crowley began to work their way back to their vehicle, parked on an access road a few miles distant.

"What did you say to them?", Castiel asked

"Hm?", Crowley answered, looking back distractedly. "Oh, the usual. Told them to give it the works, you know? Decapitation, burning, acid wash, bury whatever is left in salt. The usual catch-all treatment. Of course, I hope that any of this actually works...these things are supposed to be, well, mostly immortal."

"An Angel's blade is imbued with the power of the Creator," Castiel replied directly. "Nothing can withstand it. Except God himself."

Crowley merely shrugged. "As per our previous discussion, can't be too careful with this particular thing."

They reached their car after a couple of miles. It was a red Ferrari with jet black wheels and the vanity Detroit Michigan plate "Sin1". Castiel frowned in distaste. "I liked my car better. Lower profile."

Crowley smiled. "You certainty can't be talking about the pimp-mobile, can you? Castiel, how many tickets did you get driving that thing?"

Castiel considered for a moment. "Twenty five. Is that a lot?"

"In_four months_?", Crowley replied in mock surprise. "Yes, Castiel, that's a lot. That thing was a police magnet."

"And this isn't? A _red Ferrari_? It seems like it would catch anyone's attention."

Crowley smiled. "Let me tell you something - police won't bother with this car, mate. One; they might be afraid they can't catch it in the first place, and look stupid back at the office, and secondly; anyone driving one of these can actually _afford_ the ticket. No fun in that. Cops are generally sadistic pigs. No fun if your budget isn't ruined."

Castiel thought a bit before answering. "Cops aren't sadistic pigs. They're out there trying to save lives and keep order. They're a lot like Angels."

Crowley looked at Castiel with a withering glare. "Really, sunshine? You think that _I_ don't know what I'm talking about when I have to call someone a sadistic pig? Trust me. I _know_. This isn't just a biased guess, or some silly prejudice."

Castiel regarded Crowley for a moment before replying."Your point is well taken."

"Stick around me, sunshine, old Crowley will sharpen you up in no time," Crowley grinned, getting in the car, turning the key and revving the engine about ten times higher than was necessary, startling several birds into flight. Castiel shot him a look of reproach.

"What?!", Crowley asked, irritated. "Why do you keep staring at me like that?" He shook his head, spinning the car around onto the road leading back to the highway. "Well, at least I know what Dean was talking about all that time..."

"What did Dean say?"; Castiel asked quickly.

Crowley only smiled at Castiel, and with a free hand turned on the radio. Foreigner blared out _I Wanna Know What Love Is _in a steady 80's rock-ballad rhythm_._ Crowley's grin towards Castiel just widened as he sped down the road.

Crowley's cell phone rang and he answered it. It was Justion calling back with information about the cult. After a short conversation, Crowley hung up and asked Castiel if he had heard of a town called Aubergesbouche. Apparently, Justin had thought that might be where they might be hiding. It was a parallel from a book Lovecraft had written concerning the Deep Ones.

Castiel looked out the window, then reached into the glove compartment and pulled out the road map of Louisiana they had brought from the Gas-N-Sip in Shreveport. He unfolded it and studied it closely. He frowned. "The town's not listed here," he said after a while.

Crowley nodded. "I thought so. Bad to advertise." He sighed and picked up the phone again and asked Justin to find a neighboring town on Google Maps for him. After a little time spent with Justin searching satellite images of the probable location of the unlisted town, he had a name, Marrero. He got the directions from Castiel and pointed the car in the right direction.

"At least my car had a Tom-Tom installed in it," Castiel said sullenly, folding the map back up and stuffing it back into the glove compartment.

"Uh-uh, all original in this baby," Crowley replied. "Besides, I have my _staff_..." He gave Castiel a meaningful smile.

"Crowley, I have told you this when we started out on this mission together, I do _not_ work for you."

"Whatever you say, sunshine, whatever you say."

Castiel frowned. "This is a mutual partnership, Crowley. It is in both of our best interests to keep certain things from breaking free into this dimension. And we both have...duties that need to be performed."

Crowley just kept on driving towards Highway 90, running along the side roads near Jean Laffitte National Park, which they had just driven out of.

"Mutual or not, you still don't get to drive."

He floored it as they cleared the side road and entered onto a four-lane highway. A Louisiana State Patrol car parked under a billboard flashed it's lights on and lurched out from it's hiding place, then, apparently thinking better of it, turned off it's lights, and pulled back in. Crowley grinned maniacally. Castiel just shook his head.


	4. Where is This Place, Anyway?

Chapter 4: Where _is_ This Place, Anyway?

Trevor mashed away at his 'A' key and left-mouse button, watching in satisfaction as his wave of Zerg Banelings smashed into the opponent's defensive line. Too much for it. His grin widened further as his Speedlings and Hydralisks followed up the attack, Ultralisks doing a quick mop-up. _Try to hide from me, huh?_, he thought as the corner of his mouth turned up. _Well, there is no hiding from_...

"Dude, what the eff? What the eff?!", came a very startled and pissed off cry from behind his monitor. His partner in this mission, had thrown off her headset and stood straight up, her palms upraised, her eyes were wide.

"Chill out, red," Trevor replied. "We just _won_, right? Why the aggro?"

"Seriously? Seriously?", his partner moved around the small desk to stand and point at his monitor. "That team has spent like, _the whole game_ running up resources at expansions..."

"Yeah, and now they're dead, we win..." Trevor replied, irritated. The red-haired girl he had met up with for this whole past week at Starlight's Internet Cafe for a Starcraft tourney was hot, sure, but had serious 'tude. He had answered her ad on Craig's List for a tournament partner, and had thought that it was a great opportunity for him to find a girl. He was really happy when she turned out to be a hottie. But damn...

"Dudeyoudon'tjust...", she began to blurt out breathlessly. She took a deep breath and continued. "Dude, look at the score screen." The screen showed the team of _CB!bitches_ and _Trevdoggiedog_ in second place, the resources score over thirty-thousand points behind. "Trevor, it's all about the rankings, dude, if you ain't number one, you're number two. And no-one, _no-one_ wants to be number two."

Trevor sighed. "Yeah, yeah, chill, red. No worries. The victory should land us..."

"Nowhere...like maybe fifth...", she finished. She let out a frustrated sigh and mumbled "Guess that's what I get for playin' in the sticks..." She rounded on Trevor again. "By the way, don't call me 'red'. It's _not_ cute. It's Charlie...or CB if I'm being really, really nice."

"Yeah, well, it sounds like a guy's name to me," Trevor answered, still irritated. "So does 'CB'. You don't want to give the wrong impression, you know?"

Charlie smiled tightly. "Say, Trev-dog?", she said, all trace of anger gone. "How's about that beer that you promised me yesterday? You said we could meet up at your friend's place, knock a few back?"

Trevor allowed himself a little smile. If she was willing to drop the attitude and play along... this could work out to be pretty rewarding night, he thought. "Yeah...allright, I just have to make a couple of calls, OK? Make sure everyone's going to be there that should be. I want you to meet the whole gang." _And show off the new hot girl that _I_found to everyone_, he thought to himself.

Charlie continued to give him a nice smile. "Yeah, sure, make the calls, I'll be outside by the car, OK?"

Trevor picked up his cell and smiled back. "Cool, then. And CB? It's going to be rad." He gave his winningest smile and opened his address book, swivelling his chair away.

Charlie rolled her eyes behind his back and walked quickly out of the podunk Internet Cafe into a gravel-filled parking lot. _Holy crap_, she thought angrily. _How long to I have to play nice with this guy till I get my information? The guy's the biggest frikkin moron … and did he just actually, willingly, use the word 'rad'? _She had got a hit on some unsolved monster activity here in the bayou last week, and after some serious net searches, found out that the little town here was at the center of it. She took a Greyhound down here and scoped out the activity. It took her all of ten seconds to find her mark. Trevor was a skinny, dirty jeans wearing nerd-redneck type that thought he was the bomb. He also happened to be searching online at Starlight's like _an idiot_ for summoning rituals. She saw him switch to Starcraft and so she took out the ad later that afternoon for a tourney partner. Easy-peasy. Lucky for her he was an easy pick up as well. Pretty desperate. Bad, unstraightened teeth, messy hair and scruffy goatee, glasses - all of this not really a problem, but his _attitude_ was the thing. He thought he could do no wrong, and was god's gift to women. Sad. Not that he would have had a chance _anyway_, gender-wise for her, but still. She took out her cell to check for any new messages and something on the other side of the road gleaming _very_ brightly caught her eye.

Charlie's brow furrowed as she watched the scene at the Gas N' Sip across the street. An incredibly bright red Ferrari was parked next to the bank of pay phones, a short, balding guy in a business suit was jabbing his finger furiously at a map another taller guy in a trenchcoat was holding, then waving his arms around in desperate circles, looking all over the place _No way, not those two_... she thought in a panic. She walked away from the entrance at a fast pace, then actually started to jog. _They can't be here_... she thought. _They're going to screw up everything_...

When she got into ear-shot, she heard Crowley half-shouting at Castiel. ":...it's not bloody here! According to the directions, we're standing right in the middle of it, but it's not bloody here!"

"Annnnd, whereabouts would that be fellas?", Charlie offered, jogging up to them. "Aubergesbouche?" Crowley stopped yelling and turned his head, a puzzled expression on his face. Castiel just looked at her seriously.

"Sorry, Ma'am," he said, smiling. "My partner and I were just looking for it..."

"I know what you're _really_ looking for, " Charlie smiled. "And you've actually managed somehow to find it. Now please leave. Now. " She nodded nervously, clasped her hands behind her back and smiled widely, looking over her shoulder to make sure Trevor didn't come out and see this. "Or, did you want literally _everyone_ in this town to see this 'hey, come look at our bright-red, we must not be from 'round here' penis-mobile you have parked here?"

Crowley shoved his hands in his pockets and smiled his best salesman's smile. The one he reserved for the truly interesting cases. "Sorry, luv, " he said smoothly. "Do we know each other?"

"No," Charlie answered, looking back over her shoulder again."Well, not _technically_, no. We have mutual friends, if you get my meaning. Winchesters? One tall, one gritty?" She saw the look of confusion on both of their faces and sighed. "Ok, guys, if I say 'please', will you leave?"

Castiel frowned at her. "Are you a Hunter?"

"No, well, yeah, kinda...guys...I can't stress this enough...move this thing behind some trees or something, now-ish would be really, _really _good. The people in this town spook really, really easily, and you guys are just begging for attention...and if they go all dark on me and I lose my leads..."

Castiel looked at Crowley. "I told you that my car had a lower profile."

Crowley just smiled at him and shrugged. "Fine. We'll move it. But you and me," he wagged his finger between himself and Charlie. "we've got some conversation to be had afterwards."

Charlie let out a breath of relief. "Fine, meet me in the Gas N' Sip in five minutes. Ladies' room."

Crowley raised his eyebrows.

"Oh please," Charlie snorted. "It's for _privacy_. I think there might be like only ten girls in this entire stupid town."

Crowley and Castiel got in the car and moved it down the road. Charlie sprinted back to Starlight's and told Trevor that she needed to use the bathroom and would catch up with him in a bit. He smiled that crooked smile at her once again and she ran back across the street to wait.

After a little while , the doorknob to the bathroom turned and Castiel and Crowley moved hurriedly inside. Castiel looked around like a lost puppy and Crowley just watched Charlie carefully. "Don't mind him, it's his first trip into the Forbidden Zone," Crowley smiled.

"There's really not much difference...", Castiel wondered, craning his neck around Charlie to look at the stalls.

Charlie smiled. "Yeah, well, you need to know where to look for the secret panel to the drink lounge." When Castiel looked at her seriously, she quickly added "Joking."

"Ok, so, now that we've established who's who in this little snippet, why don't you start by giving us a little more detail on how you know us and the Winchester Two," Crowley said, his face serious.

Charlie sighed. "Yeah, well, we go way back, me and the guys."

"Us as well," Crowley raised his eyebrows expectantly.

"I got the whole wiki on you two from Sam over an Email a couple of months ago. I heard about the _incident_...you know the one that got you two stuck here? Cut off from your motherships?"

Crowley winced. "Yeah, still a sore spot there, luv. You can skip the details. So, you know us, and you're some kind of 'sort-of' Hunter?"

"Part-time, " Charlie answered. "I only take on the cases that interest me."

"Like Aubergesbouche?", Castiel asked her pointedly.

"Yeah, this place...well, you see? I've been getting hits on my program of some really weird activity down here...I got this program, it tracks monsters..."Charlie waved it off with her hand quickly as she saw the confused expression on the guys' faces." Doesn't matter. Anyway, it turns out there's some serious cult action going on down here. Some bad 'end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it' mojo. And there is. I've been working this guy for the last week for an invite, and tonight's the night I get to meet them. And then you two show up...well, no offense guys, but you're gonna scare off the fishes. And if they all disappear, it could be ten years before they show up again..."

Crowley let out a breath. "Well, little miss...huh, what exactly do we call you?"

"I am Groot," Charlie smiled back, jokingly. Castiel looked confused. Crowley grinned.

"Very cute, quoting trees now are we?", Crowley prodded.

Charlie was a tad shocked..."You...speak _Marvel_?"

"My darling, just who do you think the Demon was that gave their Contract to them in the first place?", Crowley replied, smiling. "Yours truly, true believer. No worries, it was just Mr. Lee, though, Joss never took the bait. Good kisser, that Mr. Lee." Crowley rubbed his chin, reflecting. "In three years, though, the Contract's up and they're going to end up about as lame as DC and all that Affleck nonsense." Crowley frowned at that. "Well, OK, maybe not _that_ lame...Now, luv, all kidding aside. What do we call you?"

"Charlie. Charlie Bradbury, " Charlie smiled, leaning forward.

"Well, Charlie, Charlie Bradbury " Crowley continued. "We're not quite as uninformed as you might think. We happen to know a couple of things about this cult, and what they've been up to, that might put this little scenario, shall we say, out of your league?"

Castiel frowned. "I'm sorry, but he's right. The things that this cult is dealing with are extremely dangerous. Your life could be in serious danger, Hunter or not."

"Like, 'Old Ones' dangerous?", Charlie answered, smiling.

Crowley crossed his arms. "Well, well, there's more here than meets the eye, isn't there?" Charlie smiled. "Doesn't change anything, though. Hunter's don't have the fire-power to go up against this, no matter how smart they think they are."

Charlie frowned. "Please, guys, spare me the 'back off, rookie, this case is too hot for you' speech, OK? Truth is, I got the ins with this group, and you guys don't even know what town you're standing in. You won't just leave this alone? Fine. Then you can be _my_ back-up if you want. But you do what I say, when I say it. You," she said, pointing at Crowley. "keep talking all slick-like, you can get _almost_ anything that you want with that. And you, " she said, moving turning to Castiel. "keep up that strong, silent, dreamy thing. It works for you. Otherwise, you two can get back in your Italian Neon Billboard, and drive around here like idiots until this place is a ghost town, and you will _never_ find the cult. Cause face, it dweebs, _sans me,_ you got bupkis."

Crowley frowned, and half-turning to Castiel, said. "I think I don't like her, Castiel. I think that I really, _really _don't like her."

Castiel smiled. "Well, I do. And she's right." He turned towards Charlie and regarded her seriously. "What do you need us to do?"


	5. Plans in Motion

Chapter 5: Plans in Motion

"I _hate_ this plan," Crowley grumbled, placing his hand over the cell phone and looking at Castiel, who was pacing back and forth in the small motel room they had checked into. "I never liked that wanker in the first place, and now I have to wear his meat suit?" He pulled his hand away from the mouthpiece. "Yes, Justin, crack open the vault and pull out the body. No, no of course not by yourself, you idiot. It weighs at least a ton and a half, even having been dead for all this time." He put his hand back. "That's the other thing, that body has been in Hell's crypts for ages, it's liable to stink so bad that I'll end up smelling like it for the next three years."

Castiel stopped pacing and turned to Crowley. "It's the only way. I can't occupy a greater Demon's carcass, and you can. We have to be able to convince the cult..."

"Whatever, sunshine, just you remember, you're the one that's going to be stuck in the car with me smelling like that." He moved his hand away again and turned away from Castiel. "Yes, Justin, you did actually hear me right, Aamon's Crypt. Get that horned, disgusting carcass out of there and have it sent directly to me. Room 210, the Dew-Drop Inn. Put a rush on it." He hung up and looked at the ceiling, exasperated. "I'm still _desperately _hoping, of course, that our girl Charlie manages her part correctly."

"I have the utmost confidence in her," Castiel said, resuming his pacing.

Crowley watched him. "Then why so nervous there, Castiel? You're going to wear a trench in that wonderfully art-niveau carpet of ours. Not that anybody would notice..." Crowley added, looking around at the meager accommodations. The blue wallpaper had a horrific rain pattern design on it. The mattresses on the beds were thin and uncomfortable, the sheets threadbare and stained yellow. The entire room smelled like a wet sheep-dog. There was an air-conditioning unit stuffed inexpertly into the only filthy window, rattling away and blowing out slightly cooler air than the muggy Louisiana bayou, and the bathroom...Crowley shuddered. The downtown Ritz, it was not. _How can Hunters actually stay in these places all of the time?_, he thought. No wonder they were always in such a rotten mood.

Castiel stopped again. "I am not nervous. I was just thinking."

"Do you always do _that _when you're thinking?", Crowley smiled.

Castiel frowned. "Yes, I like to engage in physical activity when I'm thinking."

"Must make doing a Sudoku fun..." Crowley mumbled half to himself. "OK, I'll bite. What exactly are you so _intensely_ thinking about?"

"The mission. Charlie may be placing herself in considerable danger if they catch her changing the ritual..."

Crowley opened his eyes wide and rubbed his chin in mock concern. "Wow, d'ya think? I'd hate for her to lose her head...especially after all of the direct _warnings_ we gave her... "

"Crowley, I understand this may not be that important to you, protecting a human life..."

"Especially _that_ particular one," Crowley quickly agreed.

Castiel cocked his head. "What is it exactly that you don't like about her? You usually are OK with Hunters in general. At least, you're usually _friendly _towards them, while you're working out a way to take advantage of the situation..."

Crowley grimaced. "I resent that."

Castiel raised an eyebrow. "Sam, Dean, Bobby Singer, are you trying to tell me that you never tried to exploit their friendship to further your own hidden agenda?"

Crowley raised both eyebrows. "Hello? King of Hell here? Look, they knew who I was and what they were getting into. Any trust that they _willingly_ gave me was their own bloody fault."

Castiel nodded. "And what's so different about Charlie Bradbury? Why the open hostility?"

Crowley sucked air between his teeth, considering. "Now see? There's the catch with that one. She doesn't fall for the usual. I could catch that right from the start. It isn't street smarts exactly. Truth is, I can't put my finger on it. Ten seconds into a conversation with _anyone_, present company not excluded, " Crowley said, holding out his hand palm up indicating Castiel. " and I've got them. I get them to follow _my_ lead. But this one...is slippery. Like a fish. Can't get a hold of her. I find myself absolutely stuck following her plan, somehow, with no other alternative. And that, _that_ bothers me."

Castiel smiled at Crowley. "I can see then that you're in a unique situation. Especially for you."

Crowley frowned, looking down at the floor before looking back to Castiel. "And what situation is that exactly, pray tell?"

"One where you have to have a little faith," Castiel answered, smiling.

Joshua hung up on his call with Trevor and placed his cell down carefully on the counter, watching it for a few seconds, contemplating. _Did he really find a girl to bring to meet them? And an _attractive _one to boot? _That was a change. Trevor was, at best, a wanna-be, more of a hanger-on than an actual productive member of the group. He had his uses, to be sure, but he was never someone that Joshua felt that he could count on to get anything important done. _Perhaps I will have to re-evaluate that_, he thought as he moved to his cupboard and pulled down a glass tumbler. He carried it to his posh old plantation style living room, with high vaulted ceilings and old wood floors and placed it on a glass table. He then walked to an old oaken liquor cabinet and selected a very fine 24 year old single malt. Joshua, only twenty-years-old himself, enjoyed the luxury of being born to one of the wealthiest old families in Louisiana. When his parents two years ago had met with their unfortunate _accident_ in the Gulf, he had come into an enormous inheritance, luckily immediately available to him as he had reached the age of eighteen. He sold the original family mansion in New Orleans and moved to Aubergesbouche, where his true interests lied, buying a large plot of land and having a new southern gothic-style mansion constructed, all as quickly as possible, of course, cost being no object.

His whole life he had always been obsessed with horror stories, but the works of H.P. Lovecraft were the ones that really caught his interest, much to his parent's and his multitude of private tutors' dismay. They just seemed so incredibly _rea_l to him. When he found out, after years of study, that they actually _were _...well ... taking over the group was the next logical step. He poured himself a draw of the golden liquid and gave it a couple of ice cubes from a waiting stainless steel ice bucket. He swirled it slowly, letting it catch the rays of the failing afternoon sun. He had found the original cult here, and was immediately unimpressed. Just a couple of hicks following centuries old family traditions of summoning one of the Old Masters every ten years in the standard exchange for good fishing and wealth. He … _dispatched_ their leader at the time and, largely due to his extensive knowledge of what it was they were _actually_ summoning, fell into the role as leader quite easily. He had replaced members over the last couple of years with ones a bit more apt to see the bigger picture and according to his specific needs. Trevor was OK at research, finding things online that could enhance the experience of the summoning or lead them to greater rewards, but finding a_girl _…. Joshua hadn't expected that. He allowed himself a lazy smile as he sipped the smoky scotch, feeling it glide like a little fire down his throat, it's rich, deep flavor settling warmly in his stomach. _Maybe having a little faith in Trevor isn't a bad thing after all. I can't wait to meet her_, he thought, smiling wider and leaning back in his leather chair, feet propped up on the glass table. _Can't wait for us _all_to meet her._


	6. Casa-del-Creepy

Chapter 6: Casa-del-Creepy

Charlie and Trevor bumped along the dirt road through the woods in silence. _He's awfully quiet_, thought Charlie. Like he's nervous or something. Which made her nervous. She couldn't afford to be nervous. _Calm and cool_, she reminded herself, taking in a deep breath. _Calm and cool._

"Did you say something?", Trevor asked her, tilting his head while still watching the road.

"Huh," Charlie replied, slightly startled from her reverie. "No, no, I think I might have just been thinking too loud maybe."

Trevor smiled, patronizingly patting her on her thigh. "Hey there, red, stop worrying. The gang's gonna love you, I guarantee it. I mean, we get along, right? Well, they're just like me."

_Oh suuuper_, Charlie thought to herself. "That outta be interesting, then, " she said to him, giving him what she hoped was a friendly smile, and not a tight grimace of pure terror and dread.

Trevor was oblivious either way, giving her thigh a squeeze before turning off the road into a paved driveway that literally seemed to appear out of nowhere. There was a modern iron gate that practically _screamed _menace there, and lights past it coming from a massive southern plantation style mansion. The gate itself was decorated with iron sculptures of various creatures. Not gargoyles, exactly, more snake-like and _slimy_. Charlie eyed them all warily. Trevor rolled down his window and punched a button on a speaker. Charlie glanced up and saw the red lights of a security camera blinking in the murk behind a particularly horrible snake creature.

"Heya Josh, it's Trev. We're here," he looked over at Charlie and winked. "Let's get this party started."

There was no answer from the other end, only a buzzing sound and a loud metallic click as the gate unlocked and began rolling back on automatic wheels. Trevor pulled forward into a round driveway before the main house and saw the shapes of a few other cars and pickup trucks already parked there. Charlie made a quick calculation in her head and figured maybe ten or twelve people must be there already. She hoped to hell that this plan of hers would work. It should. But if something went wrong...well, hell, if something went wrong, the whole damned world was in trouble anyway. She shrugged and got out of the car, even taking Trevor's proffered arm. _Best to keep up appearances._

She went through with Trevor through an open front door and large, candle-lit marble foyer. There were oil paintings on the walls and fresh flowers in an ornate vase atop an old wooden plinth. The house was designed to look old, but there was the unmistakable smell and feel of something newer. _This house was designed recently, and to fit a certain style_, Charlie thought. It did it's job well. It had a sense of majesty and hidden secrets, particular to old southern plantations.

She heard voices coming from around an entryway to their left, and Trevor led her in. There were several people standing in a high-ceilinged living room holding drinks and talking animatedly amongst themselves. It wasn't exactly an even mixture, about eight guys and two girls. There was no beer in sight, however, so her previous expectation of a kegger-style, redneck-witch-seance scene were dispelled. That didn't necessarily make her feel any better, however. This meant they were more serious, less casual about it. More dangerous.

There was a noticeable lull in the activity as Charlie and Trevor stepped into the room. Several eyes turned towards them, and, to Charlie's disgust, scanned her up and down with poorly hidden agreement. She looked over at Trevor, who wore a too-wide triumphant smile on his face. _Oh, he's loving this_, she thought to herself. _All hail the conquering spaz-moid._

A young, well-dressed, and reasonably good looking man came over to them, a friendly but otherwise neutral expression on his face. He had well groomed blond hair combed severely with a right-sided part, a square jaw with a dimple and piercing, pale blue-eyes. He had on a blue pullover - insane to be wearing in the New Orleans heat, Charlie reflected - with some kind of crest on it that Charlie had never seen before. He met Charlie's eyes directly and nodded at Trevor.

"Welcome," he drawled in a relaxed and soothing New Orleans accent. "You must be the new woman in Trevor's life that we've been hearing so much about in the last week." He offered his free hand to her, and when Charlie went to take it, he raised his own hand easily and kissed the back of hers with a small bow. "I'm Joshua Vandecourte, allow me to formally welcome you to my home. May I offer you a drink? Brandy, perhaps, it's aged quite well."

Charlie eyed the amber decanter and glasses set on the tray around it, and tried to think of just how many chemicals were probably laced on them. Instead, she decided to play it much safer.

"I'll take the one that's right in front of me, thanks," she said, boldly taking the glass out of Joshua's left hand and taking a swig. His eyebrows raised noticeably and a small smile twisted onto his mouth. He shrugged and turned back to the tray to pour himself another glass.

"No problem, I like fresh," he smiled, giving little indication to whether he was talking about Charlie or the new glass of brandy he was pouring himself. He took a small sip and indicated slightly with his hand towards her.

"You sure you want to risk catching something, some people have accused me of being highly contagious at times, " he smiled at her and winked. There was a round of laughter from the onlookers, who began to resume their previous conversations. Charlie smiled despite herself. There was a certain relaxed charm to Joshua. She filed this away under 'dangerous personality aspect of creepy cult-leader' and took another sip to settle her stomach down. She was definitely in the wolf's den. The only question left was when the pack would strike. She saw Trevor had gone off to talk to some of the other members of the group. They were a pretty eclectic mix of people. Some were dressed in 'bayou-casual' like Trevor, jeans and button-downed short-sleeved shirts. The girls were not done up too much either. _Kinda homely, too_, thought Charlie as she did a full scan. Still and all, they were close to the only girls she'd seen in this town since she got here, so better than a room full of creepy cult-guys. Then again...creepy cult girls were not any better. What had she gotten herself into...

"Everything OK with the brandy?", Joshua was asking her, his head cocked to the side and trying to catch her eyes. Caught daydreaming...

"No, yeah, super. Thanks. I was just admiring the house. It's really something. You live here all alone?"

Joshua straightened and smiled, taking a sip from his glass. "Yes, as a matter of fact I do. Just me and my friends, really."

Charlie smiled awkwardly and looked up at him, hands tucked behind her back. "Wow, I mean...what do you do? Some kind of Internet Guru or something?"

He regarded her, never breaking his calm smile. "Inheritance, actually. The Vandecourtes are one of the oldest and wealthiest families in Louisiana. Unfortunately, I'm the last of the line."

Charlie frowned. "Sorry to hear that."

Joshua waved his hand dismissively. "Don't bother with it. It was a terrible tragedy, one that I have put behind me."

A chill went up Charlie's spine. This guy was a regular sociopath. If she didn't already know about all of the things he and his friends had been up to, he would have come across as really charming, even dating material for a girl on the prowl.

Joshua rang his glass with a little spoon, calling the room to himself. "Everyone, it's almost midnight, if you would all follow me to the downstairs parlor, we can get started."

_Here it comes,_ Charlie thought to herself, her hand checking the bulge of smooth stone in her pocket to make sure it was securely there.

Joshua turned to her. "Actually, the living room isn't the most interesting part of the house. If you'll indulge me, I'd love to show you and my friends here where the party really is. Your choice, of course."

Charlie had to strain every muscle not to bolt right there. She forced a tight smile and replied. "Sure thing, JV. I'm a party kind of gal."

He kept those cool blue eyes of his firmly on hers, and for a split second, Charlie thought she saw a rush of emotion behind them. Excitement? She felt suddenly like a mouse under the carefully scrutiny of a rather bored cat looking for a little fun. She held his gaze and his smile, not flinching a bit._Not this time, JV, old pal, this time, the mouse bites back._


	7. Special Delivery

Chapter 7: Special Delivery

"I'm not signing that."

The FedEx guy looked up puzzled from his extended hand and tablet at Castiel, who stood with his jaw firmly clenched and his arms crossed, refusing to even touch the electronic signature pad. Castiel slowly shook his head from side to side.

"Oh please, we aren't going to have _this_ discussion again, are we?", came Crowley's voice from inside the hotel room. He got up in a huff from the chair by the window and marched over to stand next to Castiel, an offended and impatient look on his face.

Castiel tilted his head to him, not taking his eyes off of the FedEx deliveryman as if he were a snake ready to strike. "I told you the second we decided to work together; I will not be signing anything, and I mean_anything _with you in my presence."

Crowley slowly closed his eyes tightly. "Castiel, it's a delivery slip. It is, in fact, the delivery slip for the very, very extremely important crate that we've been waiting for for the last five hours. It is not, I repeat, _not_, asking for your immortal soul. Nor was the hotel guest register. Or the pizza delivery man. Can you please, please, for the sake of both of our sanities, stop being so damned paranoid?!"

Castiel broke off his stare at the man at the door and looked up to his right, still not reaching for the pad. With an exasperated and loud huff, Crowley shouldered him aside and snatched the pad out of the man's hand. He scribbled his signature with exaggerated violence and shoved it back into the now very confused deliveryman's hand, the whole time never breaking off his withering stare at Castiel's turned away face. The FedEx guy looked down at the signature with a shrug. "Ok, this thing is pretty damned big, Is it OK if I leave it in the parking lot?"

"Better to bring it around back, luv. Don't want to upset the locals."

With another shrug the man turned back to his partner in the freight truck and signaled for him to turn around to the alleyway behind the Dew-Drop Inn. After a few minutes of off-loading with a forklift, Crowley and Castiel were staring at the nearly ten-foot-high crate with a look of wariness. Crowley silently handed Castiel a crowbar he was holding in his hand and indicated with a slight bow the large package. Castiel strode towards it and worked loose the iron bindings around the wooden slats. They fell with a clang to the ground and Crowley glanced around them and up at the windows to make sure they were not being observed. _Ghost town_, he thought to himself. _There's even less action than at a college art film festival._

Castiel worried at the slats until they had broken loose as well, revealing a large stone sarcophagus carved with myriad demon runes. He jammed the crowbar into the lid and looked back at Crowley once more, waiting to see if he wanted to proceed. Crowley nodded. The lid broke loose and a huge rush of air blew out in a cloud. Castiel staggered back a few steps, coughing. Crowley waved his hand in front his nose, squinting through the ancient dust cloud at the corpse inside. Castiel glanced up as well, still bent over, hands on his knees, breathing heavily from the exertion.

Inside were the rotten remains of a great horned hulk of a demon. His worm-eaten clothing hung in tatters around still smooth armor. There was a small black hole right in the center of the breast plate. Crowley strode forward, grinning slightly. He stretched out a finger and ran it almost lovingly around the hole, his smile widening. He raised his eyebrows and looked back at Castiel.

"Nice shot, right? And look," he continued, looking up at the emaciated Demon's face. "The look of utter and stupid surprise is still locked on his ugly face." He leaned up to whisper in the dead Demon's ear. "And the meek and small have now inherited the Kingdom, you rotten piece of filth. You should have been more respectful to me." He turned away and walked back to Castiel, who was brushing himself off now. "So, here is the corpse. I possess it, and you use your super-duper Angel skills to carve up the summoning stone using these runes here on the lid, " he said sweeping his hand over the stone on the ground. "Then, our girl Charlie slips her version of the stone into the summoning room...unnoticed, I sincerely hope...and _voila_! Instead of a cuddly, yet incredibly slimy water beastie, they get yours truly, all dressed up in an Aamon-Demon suit. Then I break up their little party. Did I miss anything?"

Castiel cocked his head and regarded Crowley seriously. "Besides making sure Charlie gets out of there OK, no...but, Crowley...'breaking up their little party', does not mean ripping them into little pieces, you do understand that, right?"

Crowley held a hand to his heart in mock surprise. "Me? Castiel? The thought never crossed my mind..." his hand dropped and he looked back at the Demon, grinning. "But now that you mention it, having a two-ton Demon for a meatsuit does have it's advantages...are you sure we don't want to...?"

He broke off and waved his hand dismissively when he saw Castiel glaring at him. "Allright, allright, no dismembered cult. But it's not like they don't have it coming to them."

Castiel sighed and looked away. "The multitude of victims over the years is very extensive. But our priority is to destroy their summoning spell, and any artifacts they may possess to keep them from doing this again. We've already taken care of their creature, so as long as they don't have the ability to summon any new ones, our goal is achieved." Castiel's brow furrowed as he walked towards the lid on the ground, examining the runes. He kept reading them as he asked Crowley, "By the way, is there any word back from your people as to whether that thing really is dead or not?"

Crowley was rubbing his chin and staring away blankly before he realized that Castiel had asked him something. "What, oh, yes, yes, everything's fine. The beast is dead. Those Angel blades...they really do do the trick."

Castiel looked up at him for a couple of seconds before turning back to his examination. "Good, well, at least we know that that works. Just in case of emergency. The runes here, " he said, looking back up at Crowley. " are pretty straight-forward. It shouldn't be any trouble to carve out the stone."

Crowley let out a puff of air and clapped his hands together. "Well, shall we get started then?"

He tilted his head back and opened his mouth. He stopped and looked down at Castiel. "You will be sure to keep an eye on this original body of mine, won't you. I've grown rather fond of it...and if it's not too much trouble, try not to wrinkle the Armani carrying me back into the room."

Castiel replied with a half glare, half nod. Crowley shrugged and smirked. "Good enough for me. Here goes." He tilted his head all of the way back, and a strong steady stream of red smoke flew out of his open mouth. It spun in the air for a bit like a small tornado before streaming into the Demon's mouth. When all of the smoke was gone, the Demon's eyes fluttered open, red fire burning in them. It opened it's mouth slowly, bringing up a hand to test the firmness of the desiccated jaw. He turned his massive, horned head around to look at his wings and tail, stretching them all out a bit, letting the dust fall. He took a tentative step forward, the ground and stone shaking slightly under the enormous weight. He stretched his taloned arms out and over his head and let his tongue hang out in a grin. "And you know what?," his heavy, gravel-like voice came from out of his chest. "Shockingly, he sort of smells a bit like lavender...huh, who would have thought?"


	8. Fire and Brimstone

Chapter 8: Fire & Brimstone

Charlie looked around disappointingly at the rec-room that Joshua had led them into. _I mean, the seventy-inch HD TV is great and all, and the indoor pool table, but where's all the evil-mojo stuff_? She turned her head to watch Trevor and a guy named Dre shoot another round of pool. They had been at it for a couple of hours now. The rest of them had been just drinking casually and talking. On the TV was an old black and white horror film, but apart from that, it was about as scary down here as a flower garden. Trevor made a semi-impressive bank shot and with a goofy grin, looked up at her and winked, taking a big swig from his beer mug, some of it dribbling down onto his shirt. She sighed to herself and stuffed her hands in her pockets. _Did I make some kind of mistake here? No way...I mean, this is a show, right?_ She caught a bit of movement from Joshua, who was standing apart from all of the others in a corner of the room near a particularly bad family portrait oil painting. _Did he just check his watch_?, Charlie mused. He did have a slightly irritated and impatient look on his face...he glanced up and caught Charlie looking at him and instantly the relaxed and calm demeanor took over his features. _Yup, sociopath... no mistake_, Charlie confirmed. He strode towards her and took a sip from the glass in his hand.

"Everything allright, Charlie? If you don't mind me being too forward, that is...you look a bit bored."

Charlie shrugged and smiled. "Nah, I mean, you guys are great and all. I just thought, with the whole 'most interesting part of the house' speech and all, there was something more, I dunno, not standard party going on down here."

Joshua smiled easily and took another sip. "What did you have in mind, exactly, Charlie? Exotic dungeons? Old pirate lair? Secret laboratories?", he smiled wider. "No, I'm just teasing, of course, sorry about getting your expectations up, anyway. But this is about as lively as things get around here in Aubergesbouche. "

Charlie smiled back and looked down at her shoes. _This fish ain't biting_, she thought. _Gotta make the bait more tempting._

"Nah, s'ok, JV. I mean, it's really great and all, and I appreciate the invite. Your house is really gorgeous. I just, I dunno, I'm the kinda gal that likes another kind of scene. I mean, kinda über-nerd stuff. LARP, D&D, witchcraft, covens, you know, stuff on the next-level edge. I mean, we are in Louisiana, right? Home of the big-bad voodoo." She smiled up at him. _Geez, can I be any more obvious?_, she thought. _Hello? Super-willing victim here..._

Joshua cocked his head slightly to the side. "That's actually pretty funny you should mention that, Charlie. It's almost as if..." He walked over to an end table and set his drink down. He began to walk back to her. "Charlie, I am not a big believer in coincidences, in fact, I tend to loathe them. And it just so happens..." his face had begun to lose it's calm composure, reverting back to the irritated and impatient look Charlie had seen just a couple of minutes earlier. "that we are smack dab in the middle of a particularly puzzling coincidence. One that is starting to get me rather angry, truth be told." His voice continued to rise, catching the attention of the others in the room, who had begun to set aside their own drinks and rise from their chairs, breaking off conversation to watch them. _Oh-oh, maybe pushed a teenie-tiney bit too hard,_ Charlie gulped. She let her arm dangle near her purse, her hand giving it a pat and feeling reassured of the bulge of the fully loaded Beretta she had stashed there in case things got really, really bad. And things were starting to look just like that. Joshua glanced down at her hand and continued to approach, seemingly unperturbed.

"This is, in fact, the home of the 'big-bad voodoo', as you call it. It just happens to be a bit bigger and badder than you might be expecting," he continued, now standing face to face with her, his pale eyes blazing with fury. " It is, also, incredibly late to the party. And there is absolutely no possible way that could happen, save for one reason. Something has happened to my bigger, badder voodoo. So, tell me, new-girl," he hissed. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, now would you?"

_Yep, this is really, really bad,_ Charlie nodded, taking a step back and pulling the gun out of her purse. Joshua's eyes flashed, and there was a small gasp from behind her somewhere. She heard Trevor squeak out a bit, "What the hell, red? What're you doing with a gun?"

Joshua continued to hold her gaze. "She's a Hunter, you moron. It's not like we didn't know they were aware of our activities here. Or did you think that concrete barrier with the devil traps over the den just suddenly grew there out of the swamp?" Joshua glared for a second over Charlie's shoulder at Trevor. "It doesn't matter. Plans haven't changed. I just need to know one thing. What have you and your friends done with my creature?"

Charlie shook her hair from her face, keeping her gun trained on Joshua. "Creature's toast, JV. And what makes you think I have friends here? I could've taken that thing out all by my lonesome."

Joshua smiled at her, "I don't think so. Especially not with that weapon that you're carrying."

"Well, maybe I hit it with my rocket-launcher. Ever see what a rocket launcher would do to one of your little monsters?"

Joshua shook his head. "Not much, I imagine, except make a really loud noise. My creatures are impervious to man-made physical harm." He exhaled and his feature softened. "So little imagination, you Hunters. And so incredibly far out of your league." He waved his hand and muttered something under his breath. For Charlie, the room seemed to spin a bit, and she felt rather than saw something yank the gun out of her hand. When she recovered, the gun was sliding into a corner of the room and she was facing Joshua unarmed.

He closed the distance to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. She let out a swift kick to his shins that connected with a satisfying crunch. He grunted but didn't back off, picking her up and slamming her on her back onto the pool table.

"Enough of this pitiful charade!", he screamed into her face. "As I said, plans haven't changed. We just need another one of my creatures to play the role is all." He looked to his right and yelled at his group of friends." Go to the closet! Get the book and the materials. We will see this bitch wed tonight if it's the last thing I do."

_Wed?_, thought Charlie, confused. Did he just say_'wed'_? "I think you meant to say 'dead', jackass," Charlie answered. "Wait a minute, _what am I saying?_...no, you know what, forget that, wed is much better. Go with that."

Joshua snapped his head around and smiled down at her. "No, I know exactly what I said. This would have been so much easier if you had done this willingly. Well, at least for you, that is. You see, my creatures...they kind of have this need to breed. Preferably with viable human stock. The results of such a union are, shall we say, rather extraordinary. It is not, however, so healthy for the mother. Sorry for that. "

"Yea, I'm sure you are," Charlie snorted.

"It's not all that bad, Charlie. You will be giving birth to a god. And if looks are a problem for you, my creatures have the ability to alter perceptions. It will appear to us all as your heart's greatest desire. It'll be the night of your life, Hunter."

"Ummmm..." Charlie began, but was interrupted by the slam of an old, heavy tome on the pool table and the clatter of some metal instruments.

"_Exdecius de muitcha_, " Joshua muttered and got up from holding her down. Charlie felt her limbs go cold, and to her dismay discovered that she still couldn't move.

He arranged several stone and metal statues and symbols around her and picked up the book. Charlie noted them, recognizing some of them from the outside gate. He gave her a sickeningly sweet smile. "So, shall we begin?"

Joshua began to read from the book. Like the words he had spoken before, Charlie could not recognize the language. It sounded a bit like Latin, but somehow even more ancient. The shadows in the room seemed to grow as he read, and the room actually seemed to vibrate. She also noticed, with a small smile to herself, that the hidden stone in her pocket had begun to warm as he read on. _Oh, are you ever in for a huuuuge shock, Jerkwad-decourte,_ she thought to herself.

The stone became suddenly hot, and Charlie saw smoke starting to rise from her pocket. Joshua closed the book and frowned, looking around. His friends did the same.

"What the devil...where is...?", he began, then he noticed the smoke from Charlie's jeans and reached out to open her pocket. He winced as he drew out the glowing-hot stone and dropped it, hissing onto the green felt of the table. There was a sudden explosion of fire and dark smoke from where it landed, and Charlie felt and smelled her hair singing from the blast. There was a loud crack as the pool table split in two. Charlie felt her limbs release and she scrambled away, getting as far away from the chaos in the middle of the room as possible.

In the center of the room standing in a pile of glowing embers was the hulking form of a horned, armored Demon. It hissed out a breath and reached out a lightning quick arm to grab Joshua by his throat, lifting him five feet off of the ground to bring him level with it's eyes. Joshua's own eyes bulged and his legs flailed helplessly in the air. The cult scattered, most of them trying to open the doors to the stairs, but, finding the handle glowing hot, ran around trying to find something to hide behind. The Demon glanced around, satisfied that no one could escape before turning his attention back to Joshua. It's horrible face split into a huge grin, it's tongue rolling out.

"So, what have we here? A couple of little rich brats trying to play with Demons? For fun and profit? Let me tell you something, sunshine, there are no short-cuts in this world..." It paused, turning his head, considering. "Well, OK, there are a few, but they are done more civilized-like, contracts and meetings and stuff before the eternity of torture. But in _your_ case, " it said, turning back to glare at Joshua. " we'll skip the formalities and get right to the suffering and torture, is that OK with you?"

Joshua stopped struggling and just glared back at the Demon, hate filling his cold blue eyes. Charlie got up and dusted herself off. She strutted over to stand next to the Demon and looked up at Joshua. "Don't let him talk, big guy, he's got some spell-skills." The Demon shrugged. "This body is spell proof. As far as I know, the Colt would have been the only thing that could affect it. Besides, if he tries anything, I'll snap him like a twig." It glared at Joshua meaningfully.

Charlie nodded. "OK, JV, you got me. I had help. This big lug here, for example," she grinned, giving the Demon's leg a playful punch. "So, is this the mojobook?", she asked, picking up the old volume and brushing the ash off of it. "Annnd, these would be the other implements of destruction, right?", she continued, stooping to gather an armload of all of the symbols and statues she had made note of while she was lying on the table. "That's about it, then, big guy, what'ya say we blow this joint?"

A deep growl came out of the Demon's chest as he drew Joshua's face to only inches from his own. "Guardian angels, little brat, I swear I don't know how you got so lucky." He dropped Joshua in a heap at his feet and stepped back, holding his arms out wide. "And this goes for all of you hick-witches- Get. Another. Hobby.", it snarled menacingly and started for the door.

When Charlie reached the door with the Demon, she heard chuckling behind her. She and it turned around with puzzlement. Joshua was sitting in a half-leaning position, his arm over one knee, his chin buried in his chest and laughing softly to himself.

"Something funny?", the Demon growled menacingly.

Joshua looked up, his sooty face looking calm and amused, despite the disorder. " Actually, yes, " he half-choked, rubbing his throat. "I was just thinking that you really, really should have killed me..."

The Demon took a menacing step forward. "That can still be arranged, believe me sunshine...", he began, but before he could continue, Joshua had raised his hand, palm out, and murmured, "_Deicius fretrius exctu. Malsevius, dectu artren_!" The Demon stopped, it's limbs quaking. It's eyes widened as it began to realize it could no longer move. Charlie felt a cold chill, realizing what was happening. _No way! How the hell is that working on Crowley? He's a greater Demon, he said he was immune..._She reached behind her with one hand for the door, Crowley could always smoke out...her stomach dropped when she realized the handle was not moving. Locked. And without Crowley to bash it in...

Joshua had stood all of the way up now, brushing himself off. "I think, " he drawled. "I'd like to have some answers now." His gaze leveled on them both.


	9. The Wedding

Chapter 9: The Wedding

The gigantic Demon stood near the door, frozen. The Hunter bitch was strapped down to half of the wrecked pool table, the relics taken from her and arranged again neatly and precisely for the summoning. _Good,_ Joshua thought. _Now let's find out exactly what I'm dealing with here._

He strode slowly and carefully to stand in front of the Demon. He cocked his head to the side as he regarded the wide, red eyes and smiled in satisfaction to himself as he saw the hint of fear indicated there. His group had re-composed themselves and were gathered at the walls of the room, giving him a respectable space to work. They were not ignorant to his abilities, but Joshua believed they had never fully understood how devastating they could be. He smiled wider. _This is just the warm-up, my friends, the main-event is yet to come._

He looked up and met the Demon's eyes again directly. "Let's start with names first, shall we?" The Demon looked at him with contempt in his eyes, then Joshua watched it struggle as it found it's mouth involuntarily moving to form words.

"Aaaammmm...," it grumbled deeply, trying to stay mute. Joshua shook his head in amusement.

"You are completely under my thrall now, Demon. You have no choice but to answer me. Fighting it will only break your will down faster. But, please, don't take my word for it. We have nothing but time before us now."

The Demon glared, but the strain of trying to stay silent began to show in it's face and massive muscles. Tears began to stream out of it's red eyes at the incredible effort. It's entire body quivered, shook and sweated. Joshua watched with an interested and relaxed smile.

"Aaaammooon," it croaked out finally. "My name is Aamon."

Joshua raised his eyebrows. "No, no. I don't think so, " he drawled, pacing away and retrieving his brandy glass. He sipped it and walked back to the Demon. He waved his hands swiftly in front of him. "The Demon Lord known as 'Aamon' was destroyed years ago. None of the original Demon Council survived the coming of Lucifer. He had one of his minions put them all down. A punishment of some sort."

The look of total shock on the Demon's face was an incredible pleasure for Joshua. He felt himself stand straighter, his frustrated mood beginning to improve.

"Oh, I have a feeling that you would very much like to know how I could possibly know that, don't you?" he grinned, taking another sip. He leaned closer, almost whispering. "A favor for a favor, then, Demon. Everything in this world has a price, information the dearest of all. Tell me your _true_ name, and I'll let you in on the details. Oh, only for self-satisfactory purposes, naturally. You have no choice but to tell me anyway, and I, I have an unfortunate weakness of ego." Joshuas eyes glittered dangerously. "A horrible flaw in character. I enjoy braggadocio a bit too much, I fear."

The Demon sweated harder. It's eyes squeezed shut. " I told you...you little shit, " it choked. "My name is..." It tried to continue, but only managed a rasping groan. "My name...," it continued.

Joshua heard a muffled grunt from behind him. Joshua turned his head to look. The girl had attempted to struggle out of her bonds, but Trevor had regained control of her wrists and was tying the rope around them more tightly. She glared at him. Joshua gave her a smile before turning back to the Demon. "You were saying...?"

"CROWLEY!", the Demon bellowed, shaking the room. It's body relaxed, the fight going out of it. "My name is Crowley, you jumped-up little wanker."

Joshua started. Now _this_, this he never expected. He stepped forward and considered the Demon's face more closely. "Well now," he said admiringly. "This is truly an honor." He turned and looked at his followers. "My friends, we are today uniquely and truly blessed. Here, among us, " he continued, his free hand sweeping behind him to indicate the Demon. " is none other than the King of Hell himself." His followers began to smile, Joshua as well. He turned back. "Well now," he repeated slowly. "I must admit to a small degree of shock at this. To what do I owe the pleasure of such _esteemed_ company?" This last he hissed out, lathered with sarcasm.

"Keep it up, sunshine. In a few moments, Hell itself will come bursting through that door and tear you into little..." Crowley began.

Joshua started to chuckle and wave his brandy glass in front of him. "Please, please stop. Are you too thick to realize what I've already painfully illustrated for you? There is no knowledge that is barred to me." He took a large swig from his glass, emptying it, and wiped his sweater sleeve un-elegantly across his lips. "I know for a fact that you yourself are barred from Hell. I also know that as a result of that, you no longer have the ability to summon your Demon friends to you on a whim anytime that you want. As I've told you before, a secret for a secret." He strolled away. "_My_ Masters," he continued. " know everything that occurs in your little sham of a kingdom. Demons are nothing but flickering shadows, cast-offs of the greater darkness that are the Old Ones." He strode towards Crowley, contempt growing in him. "Remnants. Bastard children. Scraps of dung. To us, you are _nothing_."

Crowley glared at him. Joshua met his glare and then shrugged. "For serving them, they have granted me power, oh King of Hell. Power far greater than yours, I'd wager. Did you think that you were dealing with some bored teenagers here? Look at you. All dressed up in a demon's carcass, as if that should intimidate me. How arrogant you are. And how unbelievably short-sighted. Tell me," he asked. "how did you manage to actually destroy my creature?"

Crowley smiled. "Oh, you'd like to know that, wouldn't you?", he grinned. "Let's just say, I've got power, you little sod. Power that even your vaunted 'creatures' can't handle."

Joshua frowned. "I do believe I asked you a question, Crowley. And I do believe I would like it answered with the truth. And...right...now.", he said clearly and carefully.

Crowley shook again with the effort of not speaking. Joshua tilted his head, waiting patiently. Finally, he could not resist any longer. "An Angel's blade, " he breathed out in rush. "An Angel's blade killed it." Joshua raised his eyebrows, considering.

"Interesting," he replied after a while. "I had my suspicions that the weapons of the Light-Bringer might be effective against my Masters. Now here's independent confirmation. Since the Fall of the Angels from Heaven, entirely too many of those blades have been introduced into the mix. I shall have to remedy that." Joshua glanced back at Charlie. Her eyes burned at him. "Let me show you what real power is, banished king. Let me show you the real darkness that you and all of your misbegotten kind were spawned from."

Joshua turned on his heel and strode quickly to stand by the Hunter. He retrieved his book and turned to the page he had read before. He scanned and found the passage he needed. He read the words of the Old Ones, those words calling through the veil of eternity to them, tearing the fabric of reality itself aside so they could slip through. He felt the familiar touch of their energy. The room grew cold with it. The life of light seeping from it like water from a drain. A corner of the room shimmered and the air itself seemed to _tear_. Something stepped through. Hungry, formless at first, then quickly adapting itself to the environment there, gaining mass, muscle, skin. Teeth. Claws. There was a hissing sound as it drew it's first breath and raked it's foot across the floor.

"Welcome, my Master, " he deferred. "We have the honor of bringing you two gifts this evening. One, a bit of savory entertainment, " he said, waving his arm towards Crowley, held in place. "The King of Hell himself. Perhaps you can show him whom he should bend the knee to." There was another hiss from the creature as it drew closer into the room, drawing itself up to stand, it's head regarding Crowley and his Demon body. Vile intelligence burned in it's eyes. It seemed to smile.

"The other," Joshua continued. " a suitable human bride for you. I hope she will prove fertile ground for the addition of another True God." The creature turned it's head and regarded Charlie. It shambled forward at her and sniffed, hissing lightly. Charlie recoiled and turned her head. Joshua smiled.

"Don't worry, Charlie. My Masters are limitless in their power. As I told you before, it will take the form of your greatest desire. You'll...go out with a bang, as they say...", he laughed. His followers laughed with him. He could already see the Old One's form shifting. It's muscles shimmering in a greyish cloud, re-shaping to fit the Hunter's thoughts.

Joshua held his arms in the air to his sides and held his head back, exulting in the triumph. "My friends!", he exclaimed, jubilant."Bear witness. The impregnation and then birth of a new Master! Our rewards shall be limitless!" When he didn't hear a response, he lowered his head and frowned. His followers were standing with shocked looks on their faces. Trevor had turned ash-white. He spun around quickly and found himself staring dumbfounded himself..._oh no, Trevor, you utter and complete idiot_...

Standing in front of Charlie was a dark-haired sex-bomb of a goddess, looking down at her female body. Her eyes moved over her arms and legs in obvious confusion. It then turned her dark eyes on Joshua, pure anger building up like a furnace in them.

"Um...JV?", Charlie snorted at him. "You may want to re-think that whole 'impregnation' thing there."


	10. The Enemy of My Enemy of My Enemy

Chapter 10: The Enemy of my Enemy of my Enemy...

Crowley struggled behind the Demons' eyes, still paralyzed and unable to act. He was laughing a bit, though, enjoying the scene that was unfolding before him. Joshua had two fingers pressed into his eyes and was slowly shaking his head from side-to-side. Trevor was stammering and babbling in a high-pitched nasal whine, trying to explain to him that there was no way; "no frikkin way" that he could have known that she was "all into girls and shit". More interesting was the transformed Deep One, hissing and circling Charlie in a rage, but not attacking. _Now that is interesting, _ Crowley thought, watching the two lock eyes. Charlie seemed to be paying the argument no attention at all. Rather, her eyes were fixed on the circling creature, watching it intently. Carefully. Crowley found himself beginning to watch it more carefully as well. He also experimented a little to see if he could escape this form while the little sods Joshua's attentions were otherwise engaged. The original plan had failed on an epic scale, in any case. He felt though that he probably _should_ make sure that Charlie would be safe, though, but for the life of him, he couldn't think of a single reason why. He could tell the Angel anything. He'd buy it, he was unbelievably gullible.

He determined that he did have the ability to, if he needed, 'smoke out'...bollocks, how he _hated_ that term. So damnably American. And Winchester. Anyway, if he needed to _facilitate his escape_, he could do it as a last resort. Charlie...hm. Charlie. She had managed to sit up and work one of her hands free of the ropes. Resourceful, that one. Might do well to keep her in the address book. She was working on the other hand while the cult argued and the Deep One/Supermodel circled.

It's form was shifting. Muscles and ridges were slowly beginning to ripple and form under the smooth skin. It had also gained about a half-meter in height. _It's reverting back_, Crowley thought with a shudder. Oh, things were soon going to get very ugly here, in more ways than one.

Crowley noticed with a touch of surprise that Charlie was now completely free of her ropes. She remained sitting, though, the door was still blocked. Maybe she was waiting for a way out to present itself in the soon-to-be-ensuing chaos...

Joshua had finished listening to Trevor, and was now just raising his head to meet his eyes.

"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!", he yelled. "I am NOT interested in any more pathetic excuses, Trevor! It isn't important anyway. We summoned the Master, and now can't provide Him with His proper sacrifice. Do you have any idea what He will do to us for that? Because even I don't know for sure!"

"Um...her….?" Trevor squeaked."It ended up kinda a her, dude..."

Joshua stared dumb-founded at Trevor for a space of a few seconds. The look on his face reminded Crowley of a particularly nasty school-marm from his childhood when he had answered the question of 'Just who in the hell do you think you are, young man?' with 'The lad that just had a roll with your daughter.' The reaction from Joshua was a bit more extreme, however. But only a bit. There was a loud snap as Joshua thrust his arm forward, shouting arcane words, and pushed Trevor's head back at an angle that Crowley was certain heads weren't ever supposed to be found. _No great loss_, he shrugged.

Wild-eyed, Joshua spun around to regard his summoned 'Master.' As he did so, it turned to face him as well. It had regained much of it's original form. The creature drew itself up in front of Joshua and flexed it's claws. Joshua and the cult took a tentative step back. With an ancient intelligence, it regarded them all. It's mouth pulled back in a smile and a wet, rumbling sound came deep from within it. Crowley could make out what sounded like words. He watched Joshua's reaction carefully, as he was most likely the only one in the room able to understand the beastie in the first place.

Joshua had begun to edge back even more, his face turning ashen. He responded in kind, speaking out a few guttural syllables. The creature tilted it's head, regarding him, then grunted back in a short response. Joshua's eyes widened further, and sweat began to break out on his forehead _Oh-oh, _ Crowley thought, assessing the situation _Right, that's it, I'm out of here_...Crowley began to escape from his trapped body.

"_Crowley..."_

Crowley recovered from a momentary shock. From somewhere around him had come Cas' voice. His eyes cast around the room. No, same scene of impending slaughter….

"_Crowley!"_, came the voice again. With a start, he realized that it was coming from inside his head.

"_Castiel?"_, he thought back, confused. _"Are you speaking to me, _telepathically_? How in all of the myriad hells are you doing that?"_

"_Good, you can hear me," _came Castiel's reply, typically not answering his question._" I wasn't sure that was going to work, based on your Demon anatomy."_

"What _wasn't going to work, and what in the bloody hell are you doing with my anatomy?!", _Crowley fumed.

Crowley actually heard the frustrated _'huff'_ from Castiel. _ "The communication bond. It's an old Angel battlefield trick to relay messages. I had procured a hair from the original Demon's body that you are currently inhabiting. Angels used to use our feathers…."_

"_Well now...that sounds kinky," _Crowley replied sarcastically._"Waitjustasecond, please tell me that you aren't actually using _Angel_ magic on my bloody gob!"_

"_You'll be fine...I'm relatively certain, " _Castiel answered. _"I had to, you've been gone too long with no word..."_

"_This was _never_ part of the plan", _Crowley yelled. There was a healthy pause. Joshua had retreated back completely against a wall now, the Deep One was advancing on him. The rest of the cult members had once again scattered to various hiding places. And Charlie...Crowley frowned to himself. He couldn't see her at all...

"_It was _my_ Plan B,_" Castiel finally answered._ "I couldn't be sure what would happen if things went wrong. The most likely scenario was that you'd probably run and leave Charlie to fend for herself, and I won't allow that to happen."_

"_Castiel, I am hurt and, and...grievously offended that you could believe I'd do that!", _Crowley protested lamely. _"I would do everything, absolutely _everything_ in my power to make sure our girl Charlie was safe as houses before I'd ever consider just leaving her here all alone." _Crowley heard a loud snort from Castiel and then there was another long silence. Joshua had began spell-incantations once more, and the creature actually seemed to be held in place. But sweat streamed from Joshua's forehead with the strain, and his body shook all over. He seemed to still be trying to reason with it, but the creature was being driven into a rage now. _When he finally loses it,_ thought Crowley, _this is going to get very messy._

Crowley began to notice a small whining sound building in his head. It kept getting louder. _"Castiel?"_ , he asked tentatively. _"Castiel, I'm hearing something strange. Stop this Angel muckity-muck right now before you break my brain."_

Finally Castiel answered. _"Don't worry, Crowley, I'm using our connection to pin-point your location. I'm on my way to you now. Just tell me, is everything OK? Is Charlie hurt?"_

Crowley watched in horror as the Deep One began to break free of Joshua's binding spell. It reached a claw out to him, and he had absolutely nowhere to run. It traced a red line down his cheek and Joshua cried out in pain. He finally caught a glimpse of Charlie coming out from wherever she had been. _Oh no, what is she thinking?!,_ he thought frantically. Charlie had armed herself with a broken cue-stick and was coming up behind the massive creature. Crowley groaned. Very, very messy things were about to happen.

"_Castiel, if I were interested in seeing Charlie again...um whole, I'd put a rush on it,"_ Crowley answered. Suddenly, Crowley felt his limbs go free. He gasped as he lumbered forward a step, feeling as if he had just been pulled out of hardened cement. He looked about in wonder and noticed Joshua gesturing to him, tracing spell forms in the air and muttering wildly. The Deep One was practically engulfing him against the wall now.

"Demon!", he shouted. "You are still under my control! Get over here and fight! Now!"

Crowley was under no illusion that this was a fight that he could win, even sporting an greater demon's body. Joshua was buying himself some time. He felt his limbs moving, not entirely under his own control. He made a quick decision, and with a massive fist, he smashed open the blocked door. Timber flew in all directions, and Joshua's followers, seeing the opening, scrambled up and sprang towards the open stairwell as fast as they could. Charlie had paused in her idiotic mission, Crowley noted with relief. Joshua was edging along the wall towards the open stairwell as well.

The Deep One let out a low rumble and turned to face Crowley. It drew itself up to it's full height, it's lips curled back, and with a bellow, it charged. Crowley leapt himself and met it in mid-air. Their bodies met in a maelstrom of teeth and claws. Demon and Old One blood flew in all directions as they came crashing to the ground, Crowley on one knee, the Deep One landed in a stretched crouch, moving stealthily on all fours, circling around him. With horror, Crowley watched it in a split second scan the room, and then with a swinging arm club Charlie off of her feet. She landed with an "oomph" just behind it, cutting off Crowley from her. It had also managed, in the same lightning quick action, to pin the escaping Joshua under one of it's feet. He struggled, but wasn't able to budge. It bent down towards Joshua and the room filled with a sickening, ripping sound as it tore into his chest with a sword-like talon. It tossed him aside almost casually with it's foot and he landed in a heap with a dull thud. The creature then started to advance on Charlie, who was laying on her side, one arm cradling her apparently injured ribs.

Crowley desperately rushed forward and sunk his claws into it's back, just barely managing to hold it away from her. It roared in fury and backhanded him across his face. Everything spun and went black. He felt one of Aamon's horns snap off with the force of the blow, and heard it clatter against the wall. He slumped down, losing his grip. He opened his eyes and with blurred vision watched it start to close on Charlie. She scrambled back, holding the pool cue in one hand like a sword, her other hand then came into view from where she had been holding it around her torso...Crowley squinted through the pain...she was actually holding something in it, something she had kept hidden from view, some kind of carved idol...

The Deep One sprang at her and Charlie twirled to the side, much faster than Crowley would have expected. Charlie let out an animalistic snarl, screamed something incoherent that he didn't fully catch, and there was a loud thunk as the stone idol sunk into the creature's neck. Crowley watched in amazement as the creature's skin actually seemed to sag and wither in that instant. The idol had somehow weakened it, he realized in astonishment. Charlie stepped back and briefly appraised the monster before ramming the pool cue directly into it's eye.

The monster staggered back with a thunderous roar, enraged. Charlie, breathless, started looking around for more weapons. _This thing isn't done yet_ , Crowley observed reluctantly. With a deep and nauseating sucking sound it had pulled out the pool cue, but the idol remained embedded in it's neck. It still seemed to be slowing it down pretty effectively. _Not bad, Chipmunk, _ he thought. _Better than I managed, at least._ Crowley's eyes went wide, though, as it swung it's ruined head towards him as if reading his thoughts, and started scrambling towards him. He could barely move. He raised his arm weakly and winced, preparing to feel it tear into him.

"_Crowley,"_ Castiel's voice sounded in his head like a bell...

"_I'm here."_

A high pitched squeal of noise. A burning hot white light. A crashing sound as the ceiling broke in. Dust settled all around the figure that now stood there . Crowley's eyes adjusted to the sudden light. Castiel had his Angel's blade in hand and had landed between the Deep One and Charlie, who had re-armed herself with yet another idol and her lost pistol. They both glared at the creature with burning intensity. For a moment, Crowley couldn't be sure whom the creature should be more afraid of .

The Deep One roared in defiance at the two and rushed forward. The Angel deftly caught it's arms as Charlie slammed the second idol down into the top of it's head. The Angel's blade followed, slashing it open across the chest. With a pitiful groan, the massive creature staggered back and fell in a heap near Crowley's leg.

"NO!", came a cry from under some broken furniture piled against one of the walls. Joshua. _Still alive...bloody hard to kill that one,_ Crowley noted. He crawled out, a bloody mess, his arm raised in a pleading gesture. "No, please, don't kill it! Not yet! I need to speak with Him!"

Crowley raised himself up to a standing position, regarding the barely moving Deep One's body on the floor. "Not going to happen now, sunshine," he replied. "Looks like you're going to have to find some new friends to chat with."

Joshua glared at him with an angry, but somehow also pleading look. "You...don't understand..it's furious, and there are others, more powerful ones. It's _family_...you understand that, don't you?...if you kill him, there will be a price...a terrible, terrible price..."

Castiel stepped forward and looked back at Charlie. She nodded to him. He drove the Angel's blade directly into the Deep One's skull. There was a flash and the sensation of air escaping as it stopped moving. He pulled out the blade and looked at Joshua.

"Let them come. We'll be ready for them."

Joshua stared wide-eyed. His jaw went slack. "You...absolute morons...do you have any idea what you've just done?"

"Just stopped a monster, that's what we do," Crowley growled back.

Joshua's face looked crazed. Then, after an effort to compose himself, he looked up at Crowley. "Oh, the absolute arrogance," he choked out the words. "You, so righteous, so sure of yourselves...so driven to play the heroes, so ignorant as to the cost...the destruction that you have just brought down on us all..." Eerily, as if to emphasize his point, they heard great peals of thunder from outside. The house shook with them.

Castiel and Charlie looked up at the noise. Crowley studied Joshua carefully. He was a master of recognizing a bluff. And this wasn't one of them. A cold feeling started in his gut.

"Just what kind of destruction are we talking about here, Joshua?", Crowley asked, watching him warily.

Joshua gave him a weak smile. His shoulders slumped and he started to chuckle and tremble. Fat tears splashed onto the floor from his hanging head. Crowley reached forward and grabbed both of his shoulders and shook him. "What kind of destruction?!", he bellowed, shaking him harder and harder.

Joshua raised his bloodied face to meet his eyes. A crazed look had taken over his features. "Well, let's just say, I'd start running away. Far away..." The house shook again as more lightning ripped across the sky.

"Just what the hell are you babbling about?", Crowley pressed, gripping his shoulders even harder before releasing him. "Spit it out!"

"They said..."; Joshua mumbled. "They said that if they didn't receive their...homage...in this case, my followers' blood," he shrugged weakly. His body wracked itself with sobs. "I...tried...I tried to reason with it...make a bargain. The girl...the Demon...," He exhaled loudly and shrugged his shoulders, an oddly placed grin appeared on his split lips. "No offense...," he offered. Charlie and Crowley looked at each other in confusion. Joshua had completely lost it. They both shrugged as if to blow it off.

"Um...none taken?", Charlie answered timidly. " Um, JV, about that whole massive 'destruction" thing...?"

Joshua slumped again. His voice was barely audible as he began to answer. "They said...they said that they'd release the sea. That's their home. The source of their power. The endless depths and darkness...they said...that the power of the Deep Ones would be...unleashed...as retribution."

"Released how?", Castiel asked determinedly, walking forward. "How are they going to exact this 'retribution'?"

Joshua looked at him. "Huhmf, an Angel,", Joshua answered, seemingly acknowledging Castiel for the first time. "A servant of the Light-Bringer. Well, you'll understand this part then. All too well, I'm afraid. How are they going to exact their price? In the most Biblical way possible. Call it their version of an ironic joke. Or spite. Or a direct insult to you and your kind. They're going to release the ocean. They're going to start a flood."

Castiel flushed. "Where? Where is this flood going to happen? Who do we need to warn?"

At this Joshua started rocking and shaking with hysterical laughter. Tears began to stream anew down his face. Just as Crowley was about to grab his shoulders again, he turned his face up to them. The tears mixed with blood had left it a blood-streaked mask.

"Who do you need to warn...who do you need to _warn_...?", he said weakly, sarcastically, his voice full of sadness and resignation. "Well, I'd say...oh...I don't know...New Orleans? For starters..."


	11. What do we do now?

Chapter 11: What do we do now...?

The Mercedes sedan flew down the highway, seemingly impervious to the sheets of rain and peals of thunder as the sky around it was literally tearing itself apart. It took the off-ramp leading to the Dew-Drop-Inn at over 100 without even losing traction, sending a plume of water twenty feet high. Castiel gripped the overhead plastic handle as hard as he could, glancing nervously again over at Charlie, her brow furrowed in concentration as she leaned close over the steering wheel, her eyes focused on the road in the near pitch-blackness.

"Where did you learn to drive like this?", he ventured as they turned sharply at the light and accelerated once again on the two-lane.

"Huh? Oh. It's nothing," Charlie shrugged. "Believe me, Cas, once you've rode a hijacked broomstick out of a castle under a hail of arrows in the middle of an Oz thunderstorm, everything else is a piece of cake."

Castiel nodded numbly, his eyes still wide and worried. He glanced into the back seat again to check on Joshua, who was tied up and gagged as tight as they dared. His wounds were not nearly as severe as they had believed them to be at first...Castiel frowned. He looked a bit more closely, leaned into the back seat and moved the scraps of Joshua's ruined shirt aside. Joshua glared at him with open hatred. Castiel lifted the makeshift bandage and gauze and his eyes widened further. Where once there was a bleeding gash when they had initially bandaged him, now were only red welts. He looked up at Joshua, whose gaze had turned to one of malevolent amusement. Castiel frowned once more and settled back into his seat.

They had immediately left the ruined house after they decided they could get nothing else useful out of the cult leader. They tended his wounds, tied him up and had commandeered one of his more expensive cars from his well stocked garage. That had been Crowley's idea. Something about an 'asshole tax.' Of course, none of them were big enough to be able to carry Crowley in his Demon's body so he, reluctantly, abandoned it there, sending his spirit to rejoin his waiting form back in the hotel room. After a bit of convincing, Castiel agreed to let Charlie drive. He was currently resenting that decision.

They turned into the parking lot, not really slowing down, and with a violent jerk of the wheel, Charlie spun the car into an open parking space, slamming down on the brakes in the process and jerking up hard on the parking brake, bringing them to a perfect stop. She smiled widely and looked at Castiel.

"First floor, crappy hotel room and two-day old leftover pizza," she exclaimed cheerily, unbuckling herself and climbing out, ducking under her jacket at the onslaught of rain.

Castiel got out on unsteady legs and let out a breath of relief. He opened the back door and pulled a truculent, but non-resistant Joshua out of the back seat and steered him to the hotel door. Charlie had left it half-open and he could hear Crowley's voice coming from inside. He was speaking to someone on the phone. Charlie had already seated herself on the bed and was turning on the TV with the remote.

"Yes, them as well...", Crowley was saying into the receiver. He looked up at Cas with raised eyebrows and covered the mouthpiece with his hand. "That was bloody fast," he exclaimed. "I _know_ that it wasn't you driving, then, right?" He grinned widely when Cas just glared at him and went back to his phone conversation. "Wow, it's good to be back...", he smiled, brushing the front of his shirt down with his hand. "Even just _wearing_ Aamon's old body just about wrecked my sense of humor...no, no Justin, that had nothing to do with you. Now, as I was saying, call them as well. I fully expect to be hearing sirens and seeing news reports in under two minutes, or I will be carrying out my previous threat...", he looked at Castiel out of the corner of his eye and, seeing his disapproving stare, waved his hand in the air, blowing it off.

"Right. Now. Let's watch a little Telly, shall we?", Crowley said, hanging up and moving to stand next to Charlie. "Doesn't matter which channel, love, if my friends do what I expect them to do, this'll even interrupt NCIS."

"What exactly did you do?", Castiel asked a bit warily.

"Hm? Oh nothing...," Crowley replied shrugging. "I might have, oh, called a few friends of mine in the network news and had them start a report of a dirty bomb in New Orleans...oh, and a nuclear plant meltdown. And about a dozen Amber Alerts. Just in case."

Castiel frowned, confused. "What? Amber Alerts...?"

"Can't have too many sirens at a time like this," Crowley shrugged. "Oh good, they are _prompt_...", he grinned, shoving his hands in his pockets as the Emergency Broadcast System broke in on the TV. The blaring alert bell was followed by instructions to evacuate as quickly and orderly as possible. The counties listed were announced and sped by in the text under the multi-colored bars. Crowley smiled in satisfaction as he saw it covered the entire coastal region. There was a also an addendum for parents to make sure that all of their children were accounted for and secure during the evacuation.

Crowley swept out his hand with a flourish and made a half bow. "American paranoia at it's finest. Let's hope they have the good sense to get the hell out and not kill one another in the process."

"Let's just hope they have enough time," Castiel said seriously. "Getting everyone out of a city the size of New Orleans even in the best of circumstances could take hours." He glanced over at Joshua sitting on the chair where he had left him. "Unless we can stop it." He strode over and began to work on taking off the gag. A simultaneous cry of "No!" sprang up from Charlie and Crowley. Castiel turned.

"That little bugger probably has a spell for every occasion, Castiel, including for parties with Angels, so best leave that in place," Crowley explained.

Castiel turned back to Joshua and leaned over to look him at him levelly in the eyes. Joshua met his stare with interest, but did not show any fear. Castiel frowned.

"I think I have a better idea," Castiel said, placing two fingers on Joshua's forehead.

_The sea reached out before him, a long, dark, dripping ramp covered with seaweed was visible. It was long and winding, it's origin far off into the distance, impossible to see. Water lapped over the edges of it, and over the feet of the hundreds of thousands of devotees lined up on the path before his throne. Joshua looked up and smiled, knowing that they would throw themselves into the roiling ocean at his command, giving up their lives for him at his whim. He watched them carefully. They were all quiet, complacent, content, at peace..._

_"__So...," came a voice from behind him. "this is what you really want? This is your heart's desire?" With a start, Joshua half jumped out of his throne and turned. Castiel was standing there, staring off into the distance, his head shaking slightly. He turned to Joshua and looked down. "What could you possibly get from this? Where is the meaning in it at all?"_

_Joshua settled back into his throne and sighed. "What would you understand, angel? I could spell it out for you and you still wouldn't truly comprehend it."_

_"__Try me."_

_Joshua looked up, annoyed."Fine," he replied. He considered for a moment, running a hand over his chin. He then swept out a hand indicating the people lined up before him. "Look at them all, angel. Tell me what you see."_

_Castiel looked up again, squinting out at the people in front of him. A few of them raised dead, empty eyes to them. He shuddered. All of the light had gone out of them. There was no hope left there. After a few moments, he looked back to Joshua, who was studying him with what looked like curious amusement._

_"__Slaves," Castiel finally said. "Humans stripped of everything that makes them who they are."_

_Joshua's eyebrows raised as he shook his head slowly. "Wrong. They are all too human now. More than they ever have been. Look again. Tell me what they aren't doing. Tell me what is not happening."_

_Castiel frowned deeply and looked back. He said nothing._

_"__There's no pain, angel. That's what you aren't seeing. There's no war. No greed. No want. They are at peace, finally at peace. The world has the order that humanity has always sought after. And I have brought it to them."_

_"__That is not humanity," Castiel replied sharply. "Those are mindless, hopeless shells of humanity."_

_Joshua smiled. "Do you know how your Father, the Light-Bringer brought this universe into existence, angel? Beyond the vague biblical reference of course."_

_Castiel regarded Joshua and shook his head. "And I suppose that you somehow know this?", he asked doubtfully._

_Joshua tapped a finger to his temple."I know, because my Masters know. I know because the Old Ones were there when it happened. In fact, the universe wouldn't exist without them. In fact it wouldn't exist to this very day without them." Joshua shrugged nonchalantly. "You Father defined my Masters. He cast them in the role of Chaos, simply because that's what they were – he named them truly. He balanced all of that Chaos with Order. A very novel concept, I must admit. In the process, there was light, and a balance. And what you define as the universe. And life. And them," he said, waving his hand out at his subjects. "Humanity. Ultimate power balanced on a razor's edge against infinite chaos. And your Father was the author of that. But for the universe to keep turning, the chaos that is my Masters had to be kept away. Sealed. Locked away. Because if they are released into creation, they will consume it. Like a flood," he barked out a short laugh._

_"__So, the Old Ones are kept back, and their power is drawn upon like a battery. Everything that can tap into it from this side, well, gains power. The very power of creation, actually."_

_"__This is all about power?", Castiel asked._

_"__Isn't everything?", Joshua answered quickly. "God, the Devil, angels, demons. Your precious humanity. They all seek power. And I am no different. I tap into that power, and create Order. Just like your Father."_

_Castiel glared. "You are not God."_

_Joshua smiled and looked up. "Actually, I would say I am not so different from your God, angel. In fact, I think I'm better at the game than He is. Again, look at them all. Peace. Harmony. Real order. Something your Father never could achieve."_

_Castiel shook his head. "And destruction? Your Old Ones are going to flood the world."_

_"__Hardly a unique history. God did that once as well."_

_Castiel looked back out over the sea. "There was a purpose to it, Joshua. God never did anything without a purpose."_

_"__Neither do I."_

_Castiel smiled sadly. "I understand now,"he said. Joshua leaned back and tented his fingers, curious. "Joshua, you are nothing but a spoiled child, " Castiel continued. "You define the world as you believe it to be, as you understand it, with no regard whatsoever for anything other than yourself. You take away strife, sadness, pain, all of the things that you claim to despise. In truth, " Castiel said, moving in front of the throne to look Joshua in the eyes, " these are the only things that you do understand. You don't see joy, or happiness, or love, because you don't know these things. You can't understand them. You call them free," Castiel glanced back over his shoulder before turning back. "I call them hollow. Robbed of everything that defines them as humanity. God knew this. That was the purpose. You took away from them the most important thing in the universe, Joshua."_

_Joshua's brow furrowed, confusion appearing on his features. "And what would that be, pray tell?"_

_"__Their free will," Castiel replied levelly. "God never set out to create pure Order. He set out to create life. You, you just want to create a place that you can understand. The only things that you understand. Hollowness. Emptiness. A world without meaning," Castiel's eyes narrowed. "How sad for you."_

_Joshua turned his head away, narrowed his eyes and smiled wanly. "Whatever. Save your pity and your judgement, angel. It doesn't matter anymore. You can't stop it. The Old Ones will have their day. The world will be covered in the Deep."_

_Castiel looked up and stared intently at the sunless sky. "Wrong again, Joshua. I know how to stop them now."_

_Joshua, puzzled, looked up at Castiel, worry for the first time showing on his face. "How?", he finally asked. "I haven't said a word to you about that."_

_Castiel looked down and smiled. He tapped his own temple with his finger. "I'm in your head now, Joshua. You could say; I know because you do."_

_With a roar, Joshua sprang from his throne, swinging wildly at Castiel..._

….Castiel took a step back from Joshua, who was lying still asleep on the bed. He let out a deep breath and straightened his collar, looking back at Charlie and Crowley, who were watching him expectantly.

"Well?!", Crowley asked impatiently, breaking the silence. "Did it work?"

Castiel smiled. "It worked. We need to get to work."


End file.
